Some good progress was made this week on many fronts. I've been able to find a few resources on the syntax I need for connecting Pharmaceum up to the Amazon SD, and although it requires a few odd workarounds, the data systems are coming along well for both the new question publisher application that needed to be written and the game itself.
I was sent back some power up artwork for Maximum Chaos, and have been cleaning the new set up for bringing into the game. I also got back some adjusted characters. Currently, I'm waiting on the last asset set to be sent to me by the person who is cleaning them, a set of characters in .max format with animations because .fbx is freaking out on import for the person who was going to add some new animations, and a newly rigged and upgraded Cubeicorn ready for animations by another artist. I especially look forward to seeing what is done with the Cubeicorn as Joe, the very talented artist who is working on it, has the tricky job of turning a very cartoony 2D form from the game's comic pages into the actual game plays more realistic 3D style. The early form of the Cubicorn was done by another artist, but it just doesn't fit well with the rest of the game yet. It's not too surprising, the other 3D artist made the basic Cubicorn during the party celebrating the completion of the prototype pyrite version of the game (and it was placed at the end of the game last minute as a cadaver).
Steve Grand finally responded to my e-mail about Grandroids and polity cited that he works alone, always has and always will. It's a darn shame I don't have the money to get access to the development forms since he will be releasing the games dev tools there for 3rd party support even before the game comes out. I suspect this is his answer to making sure he has enough game content when he finishes his project. Not a bad idea given his background in building similar tools for the Creatures games and his own personal use. Still, I wonder, as one of the most prolific 3rd party producers for Creatures, several others swearing off AI and even others lost to tragic early deaths (I'll always remember you Mr. Pike), will there be enough new devs with the money to join the community and give the game a jump start? I'm hoping so... now that I think about it... I never did release my really big mod for Creatures Docking Station (school got in the way)... it was pretty cool too, involved some new forms of AI and phenotypicly plastic plant life... although I used mushroom sprites for it.
I also have an interesting dilemma. I have a system built for unity that would allow AI to identify objects by a list of traits rather than by class ID's, a big step up from the limits on Norns. I also have a written explanation of a new type of neural network that could result in activity much more similar to a brain, and then there is my base class for double stranded digital dna crossing for reproduction. Should I give this to Steve Grand? Would he even want it? Should I continue to let it sit in my pile of "If I ever get someone to fund the rest of it." projects? Should I try to get a Kick Starter thing for my own project even knowing it would take me more than the year Steve Grand was willing to promise for Grandroids? Perhaps I should start with a smaller game with simpler AI that I could produce in a year or less and then move on to a big one? I just am not sure. For now, I'll just keep putting in job apps and working on my other projects, but what happens in the next few months may set my course for a few years to come. It's a lot to think about.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
One of those times...
This last week as been one of THOSE weeks, you know, where everything seems to go wrong? I switched over to Amazon's simple database for Pharmaceum only to find that the documentation on connecting with Flash was a pile of broken links. Then I asked the person who recommended it to me for a sample of their code, so I would have some idea of the syntax. As it would turn out, this person did not actually have a copy of the code, and they had to ask another person they work with from a different city for the code. This person was not responding, so they could not send me the code and well... it was one of those kind of weeks. Thankfully, the original reference material is back up on-line and I can move forward again.
On the bright side, I did get to spend a day with my very good friend who now lives out of state. I also got Okami from Game Fly, it's a very nicely made game. Maximum Chaos' asset cleaning continues to be progressing and an artist from the project contacted me yesterday with the desire to work on things again, which is great! My strawberry plants are producing very well this year and I have been sharing shortcake with friends and family. My Grandmother continues to have pretty major health problems and is doing pretty well despite her broken back, but my Aunt who lives out of state is here for a visit which helps takes some of the strain off the rest of us (mostly my mother).
On the bright side, I did get to spend a day with my very good friend who now lives out of state. I also got Okami from Game Fly, it's a very nicely made game. Maximum Chaos' asset cleaning continues to be progressing and an artist from the project contacted me yesterday with the desire to work on things again, which is great! My strawberry plants are producing very well this year and I have been sharing shortcake with friends and family. My Grandmother continues to have pretty major health problems and is doing pretty well despite her broken back, but my Aunt who lives out of state is here for a visit which helps takes some of the strain off the rest of us (mostly my mother).
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Reality Sinks In
Well, now that I have time to recover from an overly excited state at finding Steve Grands kickstarter listing, I can think a little bit more clearly. I also read up a little bit more on the project.
First up, the funding is over, I missed it and now I can't even see the projects progress... not that I really had the money to spend on it anyway.
Secondly, the man wants to work alone. While I understand his reasons for doing so, I also see some pretty big gaping holes in the plan, which makes me sad because I don't want to see another game in the genera die. Specifically, I see no plans for the world or game the creatures are to inhabit. Really, Steve should be putting his time into the AI systems and have a team member to flesh out the ecosystem and game elements. The two systems could rather easily be built separately and then fused at the end so long as the person making the ecosystem and game elements understands academic AI well (one set of code for what the player sees, a second for what the creature sees). (I say academic to distinguish from traditional game AI). Sure, finding such a person may be tricky, heck I might be the only one, though I suspect if I exists there must be others.
Anyhow, the reality of the situation is, I'm probably not going to be able to work on this project. The fact that this project exists probably reduces the likelihood I'll ever get funding for my own (which is how I found it). And while I really hope it doesn't push the genera further into obscurity in the eyes of the game industry, I'm rather fearful that without someone taking care of the game aspects it will become an excuse example of "why real A-Life games are bad". It's not that I think it's going to be a bad game, it's that I feel like it needs to be more than just a good game, it has to be an incredible game to overcome the stigma that somehow has become attached to the concept.
Wow, that sounds so very pessimistic... I can't very well have that. Let's face it, this situation is out of my control and I'll just have to keep on moving forward on my own path. I've got hopes; I've got fears, but it's time I get back to chasing my dreams.
This weekend I got another chunk of Maximum Chaos' assets finalised.
Today I'm getting some sample code on connecting to Amazon's simple database; that should be enough to get the Pharmaceum project up and moving again.
First up, the funding is over, I missed it and now I can't even see the projects progress... not that I really had the money to spend on it anyway.
Secondly, the man wants to work alone. While I understand his reasons for doing so, I also see some pretty big gaping holes in the plan, which makes me sad because I don't want to see another game in the genera die. Specifically, I see no plans for the world or game the creatures are to inhabit. Really, Steve should be putting his time into the AI systems and have a team member to flesh out the ecosystem and game elements. The two systems could rather easily be built separately and then fused at the end so long as the person making the ecosystem and game elements understands academic AI well (one set of code for what the player sees, a second for what the creature sees). (I say academic to distinguish from traditional game AI). Sure, finding such a person may be tricky, heck I might be the only one, though I suspect if I exists there must be others.
Anyhow, the reality of the situation is, I'm probably not going to be able to work on this project. The fact that this project exists probably reduces the likelihood I'll ever get funding for my own (which is how I found it). And while I really hope it doesn't push the genera further into obscurity in the eyes of the game industry, I'm rather fearful that without someone taking care of the game aspects it will become an excuse example of "why real A-Life games are bad". It's not that I think it's going to be a bad game, it's that I feel like it needs to be more than just a good game, it has to be an incredible game to overcome the stigma that somehow has become attached to the concept.
Wow, that sounds so very pessimistic... I can't very well have that. Let's face it, this situation is out of my control and I'll just have to keep on moving forward on my own path. I've got hopes; I've got fears, but it's time I get back to chasing my dreams.
This weekend I got another chunk of Maximum Chaos' assets finalised.
Today I'm getting some sample code on connecting to Amazon's simple database; that should be enough to get the Pharmaceum project up and moving again.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
An Amazing Find: Return of the AL
For anyone who really knows me, they know that deep down inside my greatest dream is to work in the true artificial life game genera and bring it back from the dead (it died around 2003) and into a new golden era. Yet I have always known it would be a long time coming and I would need to work my way up in the ranks before I ever got the okay to start such a project...Why you ask? Read on...
Why did "true" (Good Dog) AI die?
Well, it's the black box syndrome. Whenever you have AI that partiality creates itself, the designers lose control. Game companies consider the concept a QA nightmare and avoid it like the plague... so much so in fact that they have stopped using many of the academic AI tools in places where, really, they should still be using them and wouldn't really be at risk for a QA explosion. Case in point, digital DNA that controls a color tint in ambient organisms or monsters. A few locks to prevent over saturation, a background breeding master based on genetic drift or even a little selection if it's monsters, and you instantly have something that makes every play through of the game a little bit special.
What replaced Good Dog AI?
Good Dad AI replaced Good Dog AI. I'm borrowing this analogy from Brian Schwab, a very talented AI programmer I met at GDC this year. Good Dad AI is like a dad wrestling with his 5 year old. Sure, he could easily crush the kid, but he doesn't. He also can't just let the kid win because the kid will call him on it. A good dad must lose with style, in an interesting way that makes the kid feel like they have accomplished something. That is what the goal of Good Dad AI is, and it does this primarily through heuristics (rule sets). It's a completely valid form of AI, is a better choice in most game scenarios than something such as a neural network and is no less "real" a form of AI. However, it can't really grow and develop or feel or think. It is what it is, a rule set, a behavior tree, a flow of logic and nothing more.
Why did Good Dad AI Replace Good Dog AI?
In order to be sure the game offers the experience the designers intended, by default the AI must be a good dad. If the AI builds itself there is no guarantee it will be a good dad, it could be the worst dad ever! That is why heuristic approaches have taken over, even if they become dry, and predictable with enough encounters.
Why are heuristics still real AI?
Because they are, in fact, very real in actual biology. Take the orb weaver spider and it's classic web form. That web is built and maintained using a logic set, and each species has it's own mathematical formula for producing it. What controls this rule set is the spider's DNA, and mutations coupled with selective forces can change that formula by changing the DNA. This is the piece that has been removed in Good Dad AI, and for good reason. Why? Because the player could train the spiders to be idiots and leave gaping holes in their webs by selectively killing them off... the control of the developers is lost and we are back to that black box issue, but I digress. The truth is, both heuristics and adaptive AI forms are part of a greater whole. It's not that one is better than the other, but rather, to favor one is to forget half the picture.
So what is with this Good Dad vs Good Dog thing?
They are not so much different forms of AI as they are different goals for the AI. Good Dad is consistent, Good Dog is only as good as it's owner. Naturally, they take different tools to produce, but the sad part comes in when fear prevents the best tools from being made available... plus having real live creatures in a digital environment is cool. =)
What exactly is the "true artificial life" genera?
It's a sub-category of simulation games with a different sort of goal from the more common pet simulation games. Rather than present the player with the illusion of life, these games actually attempt to reproduce it using scientific discoveries in the ways actual life functions. The creatures within these games have very little hard coding and essentially build themselves within a virtual world. These sorts of games are very complex and use digital DNA, neural networks, simulated biochemistry, heuristics and many other forms of AI, all at once. Over the top of this complicated structure is the user interface, which will look very much like a pet sim game, but it won't take long to feel the difference between the two.
In pet games, pets are not born with lethal mutation, but they are in true artificial life games. In pet games, pets do not develop bizarre behavior patterns that make no sense for their dog or cat exterior, but in true AL, that can happen. In pet games, pets do not mutate into a more intelligent form capable of more complex behaviors than previously seen, but in true AL that can happen too. Some people see these differences as flaws in the true AI genera, but they are not flaws, they are what make the genera so amazing. Sure, you can have really bad, weird, buggy looking things happen, but that is part of the fun! This is especially true if the player can access information on the "malfunctioning" creature and find out why it's doing such strange things, or at least try to.
What was the original point of this post again?
The point is, the man who first started the genera back in the 90's, Steve Grand, is bringing it back with a fully 3D AL game built in my engine of choice, Unity! The timing is amazing, and this may be the opportunity I have been working to prepare for for so long. To have the chance to help build that game would be... indescribably awesome.
It's even more amazing that he chose the same engine I have been eying for rebuilding the genera in. I even have the beginnings of code for handling the complex environments that are needed to grow true AL in started.
Granted, I have to first somehow convince him to hire me, but then again... I was made for the job. Even if he doesn't hire me, at least the the dream is moving forward, and perhaps, in time I will get my chance at contributing to the 2020 vision after all.
For people who have money and want to help, he is raising fund here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1508284443/grandroids-real-artificial-life-on-your-pc/comments
Why did "true" (Good Dog) AI die?
Well, it's the black box syndrome. Whenever you have AI that partiality creates itself, the designers lose control. Game companies consider the concept a QA nightmare and avoid it like the plague... so much so in fact that they have stopped using many of the academic AI tools in places where, really, they should still be using them and wouldn't really be at risk for a QA explosion. Case in point, digital DNA that controls a color tint in ambient organisms or monsters. A few locks to prevent over saturation, a background breeding master based on genetic drift or even a little selection if it's monsters, and you instantly have something that makes every play through of the game a little bit special.
What replaced Good Dog AI?
Good Dad AI replaced Good Dog AI. I'm borrowing this analogy from Brian Schwab, a very talented AI programmer I met at GDC this year. Good Dad AI is like a dad wrestling with his 5 year old. Sure, he could easily crush the kid, but he doesn't. He also can't just let the kid win because the kid will call him on it. A good dad must lose with style, in an interesting way that makes the kid feel like they have accomplished something. That is what the goal of Good Dad AI is, and it does this primarily through heuristics (rule sets). It's a completely valid form of AI, is a better choice in most game scenarios than something such as a neural network and is no less "real" a form of AI. However, it can't really grow and develop or feel or think. It is what it is, a rule set, a behavior tree, a flow of logic and nothing more.
Why did Good Dad AI Replace Good Dog AI?
In order to be sure the game offers the experience the designers intended, by default the AI must be a good dad. If the AI builds itself there is no guarantee it will be a good dad, it could be the worst dad ever! That is why heuristic approaches have taken over, even if they become dry, and predictable with enough encounters.
Why are heuristics still real AI?
Because they are, in fact, very real in actual biology. Take the orb weaver spider and it's classic web form. That web is built and maintained using a logic set, and each species has it's own mathematical formula for producing it. What controls this rule set is the spider's DNA, and mutations coupled with selective forces can change that formula by changing the DNA. This is the piece that has been removed in Good Dad AI, and for good reason. Why? Because the player could train the spiders to be idiots and leave gaping holes in their webs by selectively killing them off... the control of the developers is lost and we are back to that black box issue, but I digress. The truth is, both heuristics and adaptive AI forms are part of a greater whole. It's not that one is better than the other, but rather, to favor one is to forget half the picture.
So what is with this Good Dad vs Good Dog thing?
They are not so much different forms of AI as they are different goals for the AI. Good Dad is consistent, Good Dog is only as good as it's owner. Naturally, they take different tools to produce, but the sad part comes in when fear prevents the best tools from being made available... plus having real live creatures in a digital environment is cool. =)
What exactly is the "true artificial life" genera?
It's a sub-category of simulation games with a different sort of goal from the more common pet simulation games. Rather than present the player with the illusion of life, these games actually attempt to reproduce it using scientific discoveries in the ways actual life functions. The creatures within these games have very little hard coding and essentially build themselves within a virtual world. These sorts of games are very complex and use digital DNA, neural networks, simulated biochemistry, heuristics and many other forms of AI, all at once. Over the top of this complicated structure is the user interface, which will look very much like a pet sim game, but it won't take long to feel the difference between the two.
In pet games, pets are not born with lethal mutation, but they are in true artificial life games. In pet games, pets do not develop bizarre behavior patterns that make no sense for their dog or cat exterior, but in true AL, that can happen. In pet games, pets do not mutate into a more intelligent form capable of more complex behaviors than previously seen, but in true AL that can happen too. Some people see these differences as flaws in the true AI genera, but they are not flaws, they are what make the genera so amazing. Sure, you can have really bad, weird, buggy looking things happen, but that is part of the fun! This is especially true if the player can access information on the "malfunctioning" creature and find out why it's doing such strange things, or at least try to.
What was the original point of this post again?
The point is, the man who first started the genera back in the 90's, Steve Grand, is bringing it back with a fully 3D AL game built in my engine of choice, Unity! The timing is amazing, and this may be the opportunity I have been working to prepare for for so long. To have the chance to help build that game would be... indescribably awesome.
It's even more amazing that he chose the same engine I have been eying for rebuilding the genera in. I even have the beginnings of code for handling the complex environments that are needed to grow true AL in started.
Granted, I have to first somehow convince him to hire me, but then again... I was made for the job. Even if he doesn't hire me, at least the the dream is moving forward, and perhaps, in time I will get my chance at contributing to the 2020 vision after all.
For people who have money and want to help, he is raising fund here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1508284443/grandroids-real-artificial-life-on-your-pc/comments
Friday, June 3, 2011
Drupal is dead
Well, Drupal quickly has become more trouble than it's worth. Lucky for me, a lot of services for data systems have become available. Today I started putting together the "paper work" for an account with Amazon.com. Hopefully this system will work out better. At the very least it does have the bonus of actual tech support :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)